John Hipple Mitchell, also known as John Mitchell Hipple, John H. Mitchell, or J. H. Mitchell (June 22, 1835December 8, 1905) was an American lawyer, politician, and convicted criminal. He served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

on three occasions between 1873 and 1905. He also served as president of the

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

, did the initial legal work involved in the dispute that led to the landmark Supreme Court case of ''

Pennoyer v. Neff ''Pennoyer v. Neff'' 95 U.S. 714 (1878) was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held that a state court can only exert personal jurisdiction over a party domiciled out-of-state if that party is served with proce ...

'', and later was involved with the

Oregon land fraud scandal The Oregon land fraud scandal of the early 20th century involved U.S. government land grants in the U.S. state of Oregon being illegally obtained with the assistance of public officials. Most of Oregon's U.S. congressional delegation received ...

, for which he was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

and

convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is co ...

while a sitting U.S. Senator. He is one of twelve U.S. Senators indicted while in office, and one of five convicted.

Early life

He was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, with the name John Mitchell Hipple. He moved with his parents to Butler County, Pennsylvania, at the age of two. He attended public schools during much of his childhood, but also attended some private schools including the Witherspoon Institute. As a young man he was a schoolteacher. He seduced a 15-year-old female student, and, due to the resulting scandal, was forced to marry her.

Legal career

In 1857, Mitchell stopped teaching and decided to become a lawyer. He built a successful law practice in Pennsylvania. However, in 1860, he decided to leave his community and family, and moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

with a local schoolteacher with whom he was having an affair. After arriving in California, he abandoned her and moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. It was then that he decided to change his name to John Hipple Mitchell, using his middle name as his last name, and attempted to start a completely new life in Oregon. Almost immediately, he started to become a successful lawyer and build political connections. Mitchell was not an intellectual man, but he was very ambitious and knew how to develop business and political friendships with important people. In 1867, he was hired as a professor at

Willamette University School of Medicine Willamette University College of Medicine is a former school of medicine that was part of Willamette University. Founded in 1867 as the first medical school in Oregon, the school relocated between Portland and the main university campus in Salem ...

to teach medical jurisprudence. Mitchell remained as professor for almost four years. During his law practice in Oregon, Mitchell did some legal work for a client named

Marcus Neff ''Pennoyer v. Neff'' 95 U.S. 714 (1878) was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held that a state court can only exert personal jurisdiction over a party domiciled out-of-state if that party is served with proc ...

. Mitchell's dispute with Neff regarding some unpaid legal bills gave rise to the circumstances that led to the U.S. Supreme Court case of ''

''.

Political career

Two years after arriving in Oregon, in 1862, he was elected to the Oregon State Senate. In 1864 he became President of the state Senate and served in that position until 1866. Because United States Senators were elected by the state legislatures during his lifetime, and that was the only office that Mitchell was to seek, this early position in the state Senate was the only popularly elected office that he would ever run for or win. Mitchell was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate from Oregon in 1866, losing to Henry W. Corbett. He tried again in 1872 and this time won, taking office in 1873. He petitioned to officially change his name after he was elected. On the topic of names, during Mitchell's second period of Senate service (from November 18, 1885, to March 3, 1897), he concurrently served alongside two other different individuals named "John Mitchell", from other states. From November 18, 1885, to March 3, 1887, Mitchell served alongside Sen.

John I. Mitchell John Inscho Mitchell (July 28, 1838August 20, 1907) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Republican party politician from Tioga County, Pennsylvania. He served in the state legislature and represented Pennsylvania in both the U.S. House and Se ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

; and from March 4, 1893, to March 3, 1897, Mitchell served alongside Sen. John L. Mitchell from

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. By this time, he had married again, but had not divorced the woman he had married in Pennsylvania. His opponents tried to block him from becoming a senator by asking a Senate committee to expel him for what he had done in the past, charging him with

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

, desertion and living under an assumed name. Though these charges were certainly true, the Senate Committee decided they were not relevant. Mitchell served in the Senate from 1873 to 1879, and was defeated for reelection. He ran for reelection to the Senate in 1882 but lost. In 1885, however, he was elected again to the Senate, and reelected in 1890. Mitchell sought reelection by the Oregon Legislature in 1897, but his candidacy proved to be highly divisive: the resulting scandal prevented the 19th Oregon Legislative Assembly from organizing and, consequently, left Oregon with a vacant U.S. Senate seat for nearly two years.

Joseph Simon Joseph Simon (February 7, 1851February 14, 1935) was a German-born politician and attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon. He was born in Bechtheim, Hesse, and his family immigrated to the United States when he was one year old, settling in Por ...

was ultimately chosen for the seat. While not in the Senate, Mitchell practiced law. Mitchell's last term in the Senate began in 1901 and was to last until 1907, but Mitchell died before it expired. Mitchell was devoted to business interests and was against the populists and their political reforms. In the Senate, he was interested in transportation issues. He was chairman of the committee on railroads from 1877 to 1879 and from 1889 to 1893, and chairman of several committees related to coastlines and the ocean during his terms in the Senate. He was also chairman of the committee on claims from 1891 to 1893 and chairman of the committee of elections and privileges from 1895 to 1897. In 1905, Mitchell was

in the

, involving his use of political influence in the federal government to help clients with their land claims. He was convicted. An appeal of the conviction was under way and the Senate was beginning proceedings to expel him when Mitchell died of an illness in

. He was buried at River View Cemetery in Portland.

Legacy and family

The town of

Mitchell, Oregon Mitchell is a city in Wheeler County, Oregon, United States. The population was 130 at the 2010 census. It was founded in 1873 and was named after John H. Mitchell, a politician. The Painted Hills unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Mon ...

, was named after him. His daughter, Mattie Elizabeth Mitchell, married François XVI Alfred Gaston, 5th Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Duc de Liancourt, Prince de Marcillac, Duc d'Anville, in 1892. His eldest daughter, Margaret Mitchell Griffin, died at age 41 in New York City, from shock following a surgical procedure.

References

External links